Gafisa Revives Equity Issue

Brazil homebuilder Gafisa says it plans to issue BRL900m-BRL1bn of equity in the coming weeks. The move follows a substantial recovery in Gafisa’s stock price since it withdrew plans to place around BRL700m in equity last June. The company’s announcement last year prompted a selloff of more than 10% of the stock price, which in turn led Gafisa to scrap plans to issue. Since mid-June, however, Gafisa shares have risen more than 50%, making an attractive issuance point for the homebuilder. Proceeds are earmarked for land acquisitions, M&A, new launches, working capital and investments in existing projects, says Gafisa in its prospectus. Itau BBA and JPMorgan are leading the offering, whose prospectus does not detail a precise timeline. In Q4 2009, Gafisa approved a plan to issue BRL600m in 2014 local debentures via Caixa Economica Federal. But the issue was never printed, according to the CVM.